About Inverness

INVERNESS

The compact, cosmopolitan Highland capital

Bursting with attractions, world-class entertainment and great places to eat, Inverness is the capital of the Highlands, and the UK’s most northerly city.

Set in some of Europe’s most stunning landscape, the city’s origins are ancient. In fact, a fortress on top of the now wooded crag at Craig Phadrig was the capital of the Pictish kings from as early as the 400s.

Home to around 47,000 people, today’s Inverness is a diverse and bustling city with a dynamic, fast growing economy, modern digital and transport infrastructure, and a high standard of living.

Major trunk roads and rail services connect Inverness with the rest of Scotland, while Inverness Airport has daily flights to London, and other UK destinations, as well as continental Europe.

Unsurprisingly in an area known for excellence in food and drink, the city has a flourishing culinary scene, with many popular restaurants and street cafes.

For retail therapy, there’s a wide range of specialist retailers in the historic old town and Victorian Market, while the Eastgate Shopping Centre is home to many popular high street outlets. A short stroll round the city and along the river allows you to take in many of its historic attractions and connect with the past, including Inverness Castle, as well as St Andrew’s Cathedral.

Further afield, you can visit the Bronze Age Clava Cairns as well as Culloden Battlefield — the site of one of the most famous battles on Scottish soil.

Inverness is a major cultural centre. Catch one of the many events at the Eden Court Theatre complex, or take some time to visit exhibitions in the city’s galleries. There’s also a full programme of festivals, events and highland games, including the family-friendly Belladrum Tartan Heart music festival near Beauly.

And of course, a trip to Inverness wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Loch Ness. You can take a cruise down the Caledonian Canal to the loch — with ruined medieval Urquhart Castle on its banks. Keep your eyes peeled too for dolphins in the Moray Firth at Chanonry Point in Cromarty, or to the east of the city at Fort George.

INVERNESS

Did you know?

IT’S KNOWN AS THE GATEWAY TO THE HIGHLANDS BUT HERE ARE A FEW THINGS YOU MAY NOT BE AWARE OF.

> POLITICAL FIRST

Inverness attained city status in 2000, 79 years after the first Cabinet meeting outside London was held there in September 1921.

> warm welcome

Loch Ness never freezes because of the thermocline effect: sinking water near freezing point is replaced with warmer water from below.

> murderous sites

Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, where Macbeth murdered Duncan to take the Scottish crown, is thought to have been set on the earlier 11th century site of Inverness Castle.

> seat of learning

The University of the Highlands and Islands has its main campus in Inverness, which has around 8,500 students.

> engineered to last

Known as one of the greatest waterways in the world, the Caledonian Canal, which connects Inverness to Fort William, was constructed in the early 19th century by engineer Thomas Telford.

> name of the game

Inverness comes from the Scottish Gaelic. Inbhir Nis meaning ‘Mouth of the River Ness.’ Today the city still has a relatively high density of Gaelic speakers, and is at the centre of the Scottish Gaelic Renaissance.